It’s a new year and everyone is promising to eat better and lose some of the bulge they gained during the holidays. Same thing with your sales pipeline- it’s time to trim the excess fat. 
Maybe you don’t want to trim it down because you are scared of how slim it may actually look- especially this time of year. Is it filled with carry-overs from last year? The ones you’ve held on to with false hope that something would pop in 2008? Well it didn’t.
Everything about this year will be lean and mean- things will happen or they won’t. Absolutely no fluff and not only must you have a Plan B just in case but also a Plan C, D and E because in shaky times, we must get resourceful, creative and focused.
Here are my 2009 tips for building a solid and sales funnel:
1. Add at least 5 new qualified opportunities to your pipeline each week. Your pipeline should have at least 40% of new business opportunities each month.
2. Grow your existing opportunities and move them through the funnel. Get better at qualifying, talking with the power buyers and managing objections.
3. Add more on-line presentations to your tool-kit. Not just technical demos but proof-of-concept presentations and talk ROI. Remember to keep them under 15 minutes in length.
4. Learn more about the competitive landscape and expect new players to come into the picture.
5. Align your sales cycle with your customer’s buying cycle.
6. Be honest and realistic in your forecasting regardless of the type of pressure you are under.
7. Say yes to small deals- they are the building blocks of solid salesmanship.
8. Remember the majority of objections we receive are self-inflicted.
9. Prospects need to be heard more than ever- build quality relationships.
10. Stay positive, keep your head down and don’t get caught in the fear and uncertainty that surrounds us.
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